Transportation Policy

Transportation Policy

Commentary

The U.S. is rapidly approaching another watershed moment, with the stopgap funding of the Highway Trust Fund running out at the end of July. Although the likelihood appears to be another kicking of the can down the road, there may be a growing realization even in Congress that the continuation of the status quo is a recipe for decline. For me, it’s hard to imagine a more appropriate function for the federal government than the funding and enhancement of our national transportation system.

The U.S. Maritime Administration expects by late summer or early fall to seek public comments for its proposed national maritime strategy, which has been a top goal of Marad Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen.

The U.S. Senate Tuesday failed to move forward with legislation that would have authorized funding for American roads and infrastructure for another six years, after Democrats said they hadn’t had enough time to review the bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an $8 billion measure to extend federal highway funding through the end of the year. It’s enough time, Republicans say, to find a long-term for the Highway Trust Fund’s chronic shortfalls.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation to extend federal highway funding through the end of the year to buy time to find funding and votes for the six-year long-term bill that both the GOP and Democrats want.

A new six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill in the U.S. includes more than a quarter-trillion dollars in infrastructure investment and designated funding for freight corridors. The formula that divvies up that funding among states, however, is intrinsically flawed, according to analysts at the Brookings Institution.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said Monday that bills before Congress seeking to avoid lengthy negotiations marked by slowdowns and employer retaliation that recently plagued West Coast ports aren’t the answer.

A bipartisan committee in the U.S. Senate has unveiled a new six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes more than a quarter-trillion dollars in infrastructure investment and designated funding for freight corridors.

The U.S. government needs to take on sweeping reforms and new national policies if it intends to address the mounting congestion at the nation’s major port cities, the Brookings Institution said in a pair of new reports released today.